Blase interview

Creative Mapping interview

Blase... the French artist restoring old, forgotten 19th century master paintings using classic techniques. The twist? Give his works more than a passing glance...notice anything out of place? Blase, also known as Blasepheme, isn't just restoring, he's literally hijacking these paintings by giving them a deliciously comedic upgrade.

We discovered Blase at Maison&Objet, his subversive paintings the centre of one of Vincent Grégoire's most fitting House of Games space untitled Role Play. Blase is uncrowning the art world from its pretentious foundations with the perfect blend of distance, sarcasm, and fine art talent.

We met up with Blase at Maison Objet, asked him questions and this is what we got...
 

Who are you?

a Hacker who use oil with a dose of french sarcasm

Why do you paint?

to pay my rent and production

Why do you bring new... subversive... life to old, forgotten paintings?

the answer is in the question

How do you choose which paintings to "hijack"?

i must find the painting attractive first, otherwise i don t feel to work on it, it is like girls

Your view of the art world today?

we have the artists that we deserve, same for politicians

The thing you hate and love the most about “art”?

art is the most elegant way out of a confort zone

Your view on the hyper political correctness across creative realms today?

it is the incidious armed wing of our consumerist society

How do you hope people will react on your work? More than humour or just screwing with them?

I prefer people laughing than crying

Motto you live by?

what doesn t kill you... make you suffer

What's next for you?

to conquer the world, and to have a garden to grow tomatoes

More unseen Blase creations to be posted in our upcoming Design Month Review, stay posted here.